Another Life (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - Through the Valley of Shadows - full transcript

[Zayn] This was an accident, right?

Ian Yerxa was a threat.

[gasps]

Are you saying you killed him?

Yes.

He was a threat to the ship,

-to the mission--
-Fuck you, he was a threat.

He cared more about being in command--

-[Petra] You don't know that--
-[Bernie] We do.

Two hours ago, that asshole
steered this ship into a fucking star.

So, what? She just gets to go around
killing people now, is that it?



No, I'm with Bernie.
Better to kill one of him than all of us.

We are out here
to deal with an alien threat,

one that is directed at our planet.

Anything that compromises that mission
cannot and will not be ignored.

[Michelle] You psycho...

bloodthirsty, murdering fucking bitch.

Why are we sitting here
listening to this shit?

Let's throw her out a fucking airlock.

-Michelle, stop.
-Are you kidding me?

-She fucking killed him!
-Stop!

When we get back to Earth,
there will be an inquiry,

I will make sure of it.

But until then, this mission

-is front and center.
-[crash]



[alarm blares]

Life support.

We're losin' oxygen.

The reserve O2 module's malfunctionin'.

Blast as much oxygen as you can
back inside the ship.

-Can't override safety protocol.
-I can do it from the observation deck.

-[crashing]
-[all groaning]

We've lost module two.

We still have air. We are still breathing.

-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
-Hey, hey, hey!

Whoa, whoa!

[Zayn] He's having trouble breathing.

How you feelin' about your good friend
Yerxa now, huh?

Go fuck yourself, Javier.

Breathe through your nose.
We got you. Slow it down.

How much time do we have
until we run out of reserve oxygen?

We have five hours
until the crew's unconscious.

Until death we have--

-Five hours.
-[alarm wailing]

I can work with five hours.

Yeah, well there's no other choice.

All right, guys, plans, ideas?
Throw 'em at me. August?

We could source a comet.

Something icy, trap it,
electrolyze the oxygen and the hydrogen.

[Michelle] This mission is
an unending fucking shit show.

So, stop your bitchin'
and make yourself useful.

Find us a planet, a comet, an asteroid.
Anything with water.

August, seal off any unnecessary part
of the ship

and reroute our atmosphere
where we need it most.

-On it. Guys, with me.
-[Niko] And turn off that fuckin' alarm.

-Michelle, any luck? You find somethin'?
-Wouldn't I have whooped my ass off?

-A simple "no" works.
-Fine.

No.

Our long-range sensors are down.

We could backtrack to Sirius,
but it's gonna take at least 48 hours.

48 hours, we're gonna be dead.

[sighs]

Come on, you guys.
What aren't we thinkin' of?

I mean, there's microlensing.

It's pretty old tech, but...

Okay, so William looks for
light fluctuations in front of stars.

He gets a blip,
it means it's probably a planet.

So we land on it,

extract oxygen from, I don't know,
ice or whatever.

Save our asses.

[Niko] That's smart.

Really smart.

Thank you.

And don't blame me if it doesn't work.

From beyond the grave, you know.

Okay, I've got eight planets.

Five gas giants,
three little rocky ones...

Ah, they're too far away.

It's okay.

Let's keep lookin'.

[orchestral version of
Beethoven's "Ode to Joy "plays]

[low humming]

-[Artifact plays "Ode to Joy" brokenly]
-Aah.

I mean...

we play the Fifth, they play the Fifth.

We play the Ninth, they play the Ninth.

It's a four-second delay,
same as the others.

[Erik] Yeah, it's completely pointless.

Just give it time.

No, I mean, either it understands what
we're doing, or it's a giant space parrot.

[Dubois] Erik?

Can I have a word?

[clears throat]

Now, I know what you're gonna say.
Beethoven's a washout.

I'm not here to talk music, Erik.

It's the Salvare.

We've lost contact.

Okay, what exactly do you mean
by "lost contact"?

[sighs]

We haven't heard from them
in over 30 hours.

Their comms are down.

Okay, well, they were going back
into somatic sleep.

Not William.

William wasn't.

How do you know that they're not just
out of range or that an--

Because we had a partial communication
with their chief engineer.

They were trapped in a decaying orbit
around Sirius A

with significant damage to their engines.

-You should go home.
-I gotta run the new signal.

Erik.

Go be with your kid.

Take all the time you need.

Anything changes here, we'll call you.

[country music playing]

Hi, Erik.

It's Harper Glass.

I know who you are.

-Oh. I didn't want to assume--
-Let me finish.

I know who you are
because you fucked over my wife

-about nine years ago.
-What can I say?

All's fair in love and war and...

missions to Saturn that wind up killing
ten bright young things.

Erik?

Can we just get past this and...

act like two professional adults?

-[sighs]
-Is Niko dead?

That's the word on the street.

Niko...

the entire crew of the Salvare?

This isn't one
of your fuckin' gossip shows, okay?

These are real people.

Get the fuck out of here.

No.

This is a public place.

So I can say what I want,
when I want, where I want.

Look.

Erik...

I know you are hurting.

You want to protect your daughter?

It's your job. I respect that.

But my job is to make sure
my followers know the truth.

So you and General Dubois and everyone
up to the President of the United States

might want to keep the facts hidden...

Uh-uh. That's not how it's gonna go down.

-So, answer me.
-[sighs]

Is the Salvare still on mission?

Or did it vaporize in the heliosphere
of a star nine light years from Earth?

I'm not answering this
or any other question. Is that clear?

You just did.

Right, we've got somethin'.

-What is it ? A comet?
-It's too big for a comet.

[William] No, no. I think it's a planet.

Um, well, planets usually have
these little things called stars.

Not if it's rogue. Bring up a visual?

All right, we're got an atmosphere.

60% nitrogen, 30% argon...

[gasps] 10% oxygen!

Ten keeps us breathin'.

Chart a course. Prepare to land.

[Niko] Water on this planet burned off
into space eons ago.

What it lacks in water, it makes up for
in a mineral called ringwoodite.

Ringwoodite contains an abundance

of both hydrogen and oxygen,
in these caves.

[Niko] Two birds, one stone.

We can go to the caves
and mine the hydrogen and oxygen.

Javier? Bernie?

Go outside.

Do a visual inspection.

Yeah, we'll check the engines and modules

for any damage
the sensors might have missed.

Oh, eh, uh... Uh...

I'm not an engineer.

Javier is. Just follow his lead.

[groans]

Nothing's gonna happen if I don't like
your question or you don't like my answer.

Um...

Okay. I guess I'm just wondering why

you're sending me,
not an engineer, out there.

Like, why not send August or Oliver?

They're gonna take the shuttle
to the caves

and mine for as much of that mineral
as they can.

Um... I've done flight simulations,
but I'm not a pilot.

No, our pilot's down in engineering
with half his skin burned off.

You will not be piloting the shuttle.

-Uh...
-Then, who the hell is? You?

[Salvare] Soma deactivated.

[pulsing hum]

[bleeping]

[buzzing]

[gasps]

[hyperventilating]

Niko?

[gasping]

Why am I--

Are we at Canis Majoris?

No.

Something's happened to Yerxa?

Right?

Is he dead?

I didn't go into engineering thinking

that only one of us was gonna make it
out alive, but Ian just--

Wait.

Niko, you honestly believe
Ian was going to kill you?

Yes.

Then why did he do it?

'Cause he thought he was right.

So he just went for it, and even after
almost killing everybody on this ship,

he just...

-He still thought he was right?
-He said that for some of us,

most of us,

this was gonna be a one-way mission.

That I had to face the fact
that people were gonna die.

He was right.

Sorry, I know that you guys were friends.

You did what you had to do.

I need a pilot for a shuttle.

Niko, you want me to fly?

I'm barely even awake.

Have some coffee.

You've been through worse.

All right, I'll, uh... I'll head that way,
and you go around the other way. Okay?

Uh, keep an eye out for things like rips,
uh, stress fractures...

and we meet back here, okay?

If I get done early,

-you think I can take some soil samples?
-No, no, no, no. No.

We do the job Niko asked us to do
and then we head back inside.

-Hey, man, it'll take a minute--
-No.

Oh, come on, dude!

Just think about it. Before today,
no one knew this planet existed,

and yet, here we are.

The first humans to set foot,
not only on an extra-solar planet,

but a planet that's totally bad-ass.

[rumbling]

[alarm beeping]

Please tell me
that was Cas's shuttle taking off?

[William]
No, Cas left ten minutes ago. Earthquake.

4.7 on the Richter scale.

If this was California,
you wouldn't even blink.

This isn't California.

It's a pitch-black space boulder
with no star that's as cold as fuck.

[sighs]

Should we be worried?

No. The rift valley is
hundreds of miles away...

though I... I wouldn't dillydally.

Bernie, Javier? You guys copy?

It's just an earthquake.
Nothing to worry about,

but the faster you finish,
the faster we can get back on mission.

[Bernie] All right. No dillydallying.

[groans]

Okay.

[sighs] Okay.

Okay, okay. Okay.

Why don't you take a break?

[sighs] 'Cause I'm fine.

No, you're not,

and I need you 100% to get
the long-range comms back up and running,

so take a break.

[William]
The law's on your side, you know.

What?

Military law?

It's on your side.

I thought you'd want to know.

I didn't do what I did
because it was legal.

Okay.

[machinery pinging slowly]

-[slow pinging continues]
-[sighs]

[pinging speeds up]

[rapid pinging]

[Cas] Niko,

there are enough crystals here to
keep us breathing till we die of old age.

Do we really gotta go in there?

I just pilot this thing, O.

-Mining's your department.
-Ringwoodite ain't gonna mine itself.

Desperate times,
desperate measures, buddy.

Yeah.

[groaning]

-Like, fucking Jesus fucking Christ!
-Fuck.

What the fuck?

-Well, it's great to see you, too.
-God.

Why can't I breathe?

Why can't I find any triple chocolate
fuckin' protein bars?

Bernie, that greedy fuck,
I bet he's had all the good shit.

-You know, Michelle, you swear a lot.
-You know, Sasha, you sleep a lot.

-[sighs]
-[groans]

Here you are, you little monsters.

Hiding behind the rice cakes. Amateur.

[sighs]

-[sighs]
-You're really not feeling good, huh?

What gave it away? Me passing out
in front of everyone?

[chuckles]

Really?

-Oh, that's nice, thank you.
-[laughs]

Come on, man, that shit was funny.

-[chuckles]
-Aaah!

Who cares?

First time I went in a non-grav,
I threw up all over Cas.

Carrots went in dehydrated,
they came out baby food.

Chunky, disgusting, acidic baby food.

-I'm not making you feel any better, huh?
-No.

I know a trick. Give me your hand.

Hand, now! Jesus,
what do you think I'm gonna do?

I don't know with you.

That's right, you don't know.
Give me your hand.

Oh, God.

Baby.

This here's a pressure point.
You rub it, it feels better.

And if you can't find someone
to rub it for you, well...

handsome as you are,

I'm sure even you had to take care
of business once or twice.

Does everyone hate me?

Not everyone.

I wasn't trained to be an astronaut.

There wasn't time but, you know,
no one remembers that.

No, I'm just the lazy asshole
with the private room.

-Oh, boo-hoo, your life's so hard.
-The point is...

I might not be as...

technically smart or...

mechanically inclined
as everyone else,

but I'm not a total
waste of breath either.

I'm serious. If there's anything
you think I can do to help, say it.

Hm, well...

I guess you can make sure
we're not all accomplices to murder,

when there's an inquiry.

Aren't you, like, the youngest senator
or something?

Congressman...

and not the youngest ever,
but pretty close.

Oh.

Thanks, that actually... did help.

I know.

Uh...

[sighs]

What?

Niko...

did what she had to do...

so...

you could assume she'd do it again.

Are you telling me
I need to watch my back?

[scoffs]

More like your mouth.

[Oliver] How many more of these
goddamn crystals...

do we gotta mine out of these walls?

You complaining?
'Cause it sounds like you're complaining.

[rumbling]

[groans]

-[sighs]
-Okay.

Yeah, dying in an earthquake, yeah.

-[grunting]
-Hey, who's complaining?

-[tapping]
-[sighs]

Ah, Jesus.

-What?
-[grunts]

Are you okay?

Yeah, Yeah, I'm okay.
I'm just all fogged up.

[sighs] Yeah.

God, I know.

They can send us across the galaxy

but they can't make a visor

that doesn't turn into pea soup.

-[both gasping]
-[bleeping]

Okay.

-[tapping]
-[sighs]

[gasping]

[alarm beeping]

What the hell are you doin'?

[both panting]

I just...

The oxygen's at 19%.

There must be some kind of
natural electrolysis happening in here.

And bonus, I can actually see.

You say that now

but when your eyes dissolve
and you literally cough up your lungs?

Don't be such a wuss. Come on.

[laughing] Look, I'm breathing.

[beeping]

-19%.
-[sighs]

-You're serious?
-Mm-hm.

Aaaah.

[alarm beeping]

[gasps]

Hey.

[sighs]

-Hey.
-[chuckles]

Look at us! We're the first people
to ever breathe air on another planet.

-They'll build statues in our name.
-[both laughing]

Hey, Zayn. Coffee's not really working.
Do you have anything to pick me up?

Yeah, how's a cocktail of caffeine,
tyrosine and B12 sound?

-Like magic.
-Okay, take a seat.

[sighs]

So, are we gonna talk about it?

No.

Doctor-patient privileges extend
all the way to outer space, you know.

-[whirring]
-[grunts]

Do you know that I'm, like, 1/16 Armenian?

I know you couldn't really tell
by looking at me, but my, uh...

great-great-great something
grandmother fled the genocide...

with two kids.

One who could walk
and one she had to carry.

And after days of marching
through the desert,

she knew that if she kept walking
with both kids,

that all three of them would die.

So she left the baby
on the side of the road.

People always ask me...

how could she pick a child to die?

I've always marveled at
how she decided who got to live.

Thanks. I'm feeling better already.

Niko,

you will have to talk
about Ian eventually...

and not just for the good
of the mission, but...

for you.

[Ian] When General Dubois warned me
that Niko was taking over

as commander of the Salvare,

I knew it would end in disaster.

I knew that under her command,
and not under mine...

this mission would fail.

Dubois put the fate of the entire world

in the hands of someone not cut out
for the job...

So, to answer your question...

No, I'm not surprised.

Not at all.

If I'm surprised at anything,
it's that it took this long.

[pulsing hum]

I always knew Niko would kill me.

She'd kill me,
and then she'd kill everybody else.

Because that's what you do...

Niko.

You make decisions
that lead to people dying.

How many of us have you killed now? Hm?

Ten?

No, it's 11.

Me...

Lucky number 11.

But honestly,

why stop there,

when you have 9.4 billion lives

back on Earth that you can still end?

William?

What the hell are you doing?

I'm-- I'm sorry, I just... [sighs]

I just wanted a glimpse into what was
going through Yerxa's head, figure out...

-why he'd turn on you.
-Why?

To what end?

Turn it off.

You keep looking for reasons
to justify what I did,

which means that you think
that I'm guilty of a crime.

I just--

I don't understand.

But you don't understand what?

You.

How you could just...

kill someone.

Cas will be back with the shuttle
any minute. We need to be ready.

Yes, Niko.

[Harper] My question is, when a government
spends trillions of dollars

on something they keep saying, ad nauseam,

is the most important mission
humankind has ever faced,

what's the justification
in keeping it secret?

So I'm asking the president
on behalf of all of you...

did the Salvare blow up around Sirius?

And if it did, what's our plan B?

Do we even have one?

[bleep]

Hey.

Jana?

Jana.

Whoa.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!

Jana, where are you goin'?

Hey, Jana.

If you and the soldiers won't do anything
about the aliens, I will.

Whoa, whoa, hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey.

What are you talkin' about?

Harper Glass said the Salvare blew up.

No, sweetie.

Is Mommy dead?

No, no, no, no, no, no.
No, no. Hey, sweetie, listen.

We just lost contact with the ship,
that's all.

[sniffles]

Why didn't you tell me?

I should have.

-I just...
-[sighs]

didn't want to scare you.

I'm... I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

[August] Ever imagined you'd be doing this
when you were back home?

[Oliver sighs]

Doing what?

Mining magic rocks on Planet X
while hurtling through deep space?

Only when I was high.

Be serious.

Why did you sign up for this mission?

-We knew the risks.
-I guess I--

I wanted to feel something real, you know?

Your life on Earth wasn't real?

It's hard to explain.

-Okay.
-[sighs] Anyway...

Home's not really home ever since
the floods took out St. Petersburg.

Mm.

[sighs] What about you?

[stops hammering]

[sighs] You know,

deep space suicide missions
are a Catawnee tradition.

[both laugh]

My brother should have been here.

I wanted to honor that.

I'm sorry about what I said before.

It's okay.

And also...

you know,
FTL travel is pretty damn cool, so...

[both laugh]

-Yeah.
-[Cas] I'm back.

[both sigh]

[August] Okay.

You guys! Seriously?

Your visors are up.

Put them down, now!

[Oliver] Jesus.

Look, I'm gonna make a pit stop
back at the Salvare.

You two keep mining away...

with your visors down.

Thanks.

[sighs]

[both chuckle]

[alarms beeping]

[wind whistling]

Where the fuck did he go?

Hey Bernie, get your ass back over here.

Hey, Bernie!

[whoosh]

[groans]

Motherfucker.

[rumbling]

-Aaah!
-[rumbling]

[thump]

-[rumbling]
-Holy shit. Niko, are you guys reading me?

If you are, take a look east.

We see it.

Does anyone care to explain
how we missed an entire moon?

It was in such a low orbit,
it didn't show up on my first radar scans.

Well, it's showin' up now.

[Niko] Javier, you and Bernie
get back on board.

I don't want to take any chances.

Yeah, on our way.

Ah... a-ha!

Give me the goods, rogue planet.

Yes! Cryo liquid.

Oh, Bernie Martinez, they're gonna name
high schools after you.

-[gasping]
-Oh! Whoa!

-What the hell, man?
-I told you to stay close.

Yeah, I finished early so I thought
I'd get some soil samples.

-See if there's any extremophiles--
-Bernie.

-They're full of nasty--
-Bernie, for once in your life,

shut the fuck up.

[loud crashing]

[explosions]

Javier, Bernie?

Get the hell inside.

[Javier] Oh, shit. We got it, copy that!

I thought we were safe from the rift.

On Earth, the moon's gravity pulls
on the ocean's water.

The same thing's happenin', but this
moon is pullin' on all the magna.

Cas and the shuttle are back.

[Salvare] Decontamination complete.

-Are you okay?
-We have to go back for them right now.

Guys, that pyroclastic flow hits us
in nine minutes.

If we're not in orbit,
this mission ends.

So then, what? You're just going to leave
August and Oliver there to burn to death?

They're below ground.
Can the caves protect them

and we can get them
after the threat has passed?

If I knew how long the eruption
would last, I could answer.

I don't. Those caves will probably
be buried.

They'll starve to death
if they don't suffocate first.

[crashing]

Niko?

-[grunts]
-Oh, Jesus!

What is it now?

[August] Salvare, do you...
do you read me?

Salvare, do you copy?

Please. Come on,
come on, come on, come on.

Salvare, do you--

Oh, Jesus Christ,
that bitch didn't even fucking try.

-Think about the mission.
-The mission?

The mission? Are you kidding me?

The mission? Niko got what she wanted!

Why the fuck would she need us now, huh?

I mean, she's out there
breathing all that precious oxygen

that we found for her--

-[thump]
-[groans]

Oliver!

[grunts]

Pick your shit up. Come on!

It's gonna be rough but we'll make it.

Niko?

Liftoff's gonna be a bitch.

[groaning]

Get up.

Come on.

[gasps]

Shit.

[murmuring in Russian]

Brace! Brace! Brace! Brace! Brace!

[grunts]

-We're going again.
-[beeping]

[rumbling]

Come on, you bitch. Come on.

Oliver...

Come on.

Come on.

[crackling and rumbling]

[silence]

[all gasping]

[August chuckles]

[bleeping]

Thank you for coming back for us.

You can throw up now if you need to.

[laughs]

[all laughing]

William?

We are comin' in.

[whirring]

[Salvare] Decontamination complete.

-[cheering]
-[Sasha] Yeah!

That was awesome.

-[Javier] Great job. Welcome back.
-Whoo!

-[Cas] Whoo-hoo!
-[Bernie] Whooo!

[whistling]

-[Petra] Yeah.
-[Bernie] Nice. Come on. High-five.

-[cheering]
-[Zayn] Good job, guys.

[Bernie] That was close, guys.
I thought you were gone.

-[Petra] Guys!
-[Bernie] I thought you definitely...

Cas, your replacement's so much nicer.

[laughter and chatter continuing]

[sighs]

[gasping]

[pulsing hum]

[sobbing]

[hyperventilating]

William?

Hey, hey, hey!

-Should I call Zayn?
-No.

No, I'm okay. I just, um...

[breathing shakily]

I know that I bit your head off earlier,
but I...

Niko.

Just ask me. What can I do?

I need to ask him a question.
I need to talk to Yerxa.

[sighs]

[exhales]

Killing you. Was that my only option?

Life is all about... making choices.

That's what we do.

All day, every day.

You chose to kill me.

I...

I-- I don't under--

So, I could have let you live?

I don't know.

Fuck.

[sniffling]

-[woman] You got everything?
-[man] Yeah, sure.

I saw Harper's video.

Oh, did I tell you
that she paid me a visit?

By visit, I mean
she completely blindsided me.

Harper Glass signature move.

Yeah, I answered exactly zero
of her questions,

but somehow, she kind of got
everything she needed.

Yeah, she filled in the gaps.

Yeah.

She did.

Well, tell Dubois.
Slap a restraining order on her.

But first, could you maybe get me
her autograph? My son's a huge fan.

Actually, I'm kind of a huge fan,
but I, uh...

-really shouldn't be.
-Filling in the gaps.

[bleeping]

The audio files the Artifact blasted
back at us? We missed something.

Something huge.

The negative patterns.

Oh, my God.

It's not what we're hearing,
it's what we're not hearing.

Exactly.

The--

The gaps are the data.

It's like some kind of puzzle.

All that's missing is the message.

[low humming]

Look, I know it's big and weird and...

scary.

You wanna know what I think?

I think they came here for a reason,

and right now,
they're just tryin' to talk to us.

Because if they wanted to do bad things,

they would have already.

Does that make sense?

Like a mean kid at school.

They don't wait to pick on you.

[cicadas chirping]

[Erik] Look...

I know it's tough.

You're hearing a lot of things
from a lot of different people.

But I know in my heart that Mommy's fine.

Because she's strong...

and she's smart.

Just like you.

If they're here to talk,
then why don't they just say something?

I think they're testing us.

What happens when we pass their test?

That's what I gotta figure out.

[breathing shakily]

So I guess if you're watching this,

uh... things have gone south.

South as in you're awake, and I'm...

dead.

Um...

Or maybe not. Maybe, uh...

Maybe the mission is over
and we're back on Earth

and we're watching this together

and probably laughing at
what a baby-faced dork I was

when I... when I recorded this thing.

Um... [chuckles]

Yeah, I'm gonna... I'm gonna go with that.

That we're...

together.

But if we're not...

[laughs] Um...

then I just want you to know
that I love you, babe.

And, uh...

I would cross the universe for you.

[Cas] When I first met Ian, I was 17.

He was my rival...

or a pain in my ass, actually.

But here's the thing.

I learned so much...

from trying to beat him...

that I wouldn't be half the astronaut
I am today if it wasn't for him...

And despite everything, I...

I know in my heart that he thought
what he was doing was right.

-He used to tell me--
-[groans]

-He used to tell me that--
-[retches]

-[groans]
-Petra, what-- what's wrong? Hey!

-Stop, stop, stop. Don't move.
-[retches]

It's okay, it's okay.

-[Oliver] Whoa, whoa, whoa.
-[gagging]

-[groaning]
-Stay back.

-[gasping]
-[crunching]

[screaming]

-Niko, what do we do?
-Help! [screams]

[choking and gasping]

[cracking]

-Zayn!
-[groaning]

-I-- I don't know what to do.
-[screams]

Okay. Um...

Come here.

[screaming]

What the fuck?